


Ones Who Stop you Fallin From Your Ladder

by PaxDare3



Category: Strike Back
Genre: Angst, Character Death, F/M, Multi, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-19 02:42:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11888244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaxDare3/pseuds/PaxDare3
Summary: My version of how the beginning of the show started.  Attempted rescue of John Porter and how Damien Scott came to join the team.  Introduction of my original character Pax Porter





	Ones Who Stop you Fallin From Your Ladder

**Author's Note:**

> Setting the Scene:
> 
> Starts with videos showing John Porter being held by terrorists, beaten and forced to read for the camera. There is a Section 20 team advancing on what they to believe to be the location of John Porter. The team enters the room to find that they are too late and Porter has already been moved to another location. When the team returns Col. Grant sends Captain Kate Marshall and Sergeant Pax Porter on an assignment to get more information on the location of John Porter. She gives Sergeant Michael Stonebridge a folder with a picture of former US Army Delta Force Sergeant Damien Scott and tells him to find him and bring him to her.
> 
> Sgt. Stonebridge finds Scott in Kuala Lumpur working as a fighter. Scott recognizes Stonebridge when he sees him during a fight. He was supposed to throw the fight for a guy he was working for, but he realized upon seeing Stonebridge that he needed to get out quickly. Scott was in Afghanistan and Iraq during the Iraq War and he asked too many questions which led to him being setup with opium found in his locker. He was dishonorably discharged from the military. After that he has jumped all about Asia and Eastern Europe. Stonebridge and Scott meet up in Scott’s hotel room. Stonebridge tells Scott they need his help and it has to do with John Porter. Scott goes with Stonebridge.

“Zero this is Bravo One do you copy?” Captain Marshall’s voice comes over the comms in the crib as Sgt. Stonebridge walks in with Damien Scott. Colonel Grant holds up a hand at Stonebridge to prevent him from speaking. “Bravo One this is Zero, Report.”

“Zero the location we were scouting has the package inside. Repeat we are on location and can confirm that the package is on site. Bravo One and Two are prepping for insertion.” All eyes in the crib widen in shock. This was supposed to be a simple intelligence gathering assignment for Captain Marshall and Sgt. Porter. None of the gathered intel suggested that they would actually stumble upon John Porter’s actual location. Even worse since this mission was supposed to be fact gathering only they had a very limited amount of weapons and ammunition.

“Bravo One hold for instructions. You are not equipped for a rescue at this time.” Colonel Grant swings to glare at Major Sinclair, Sgt. Stonebridge and Sgt. Richmond, “How the hell did they manage to find him?” 

“Hey, does this mean I ain’t getting paid?” Damien Scott pops off, drawing the attention of the room to him. Sgt. Stonebridge glares at Scott, who is standing around with his arms crossed and a goofy grin on his face. “Colonel, this will be a suicide mission for them. If they have gone undetected have them hold, observe and send me and a team to join them. We can move on Porter’s location then.” Stonebridge demands with a tone just short of insubordination. 

“Sergeant I agree with your assessment, but you do remember who we are talking about here.” Before the Colonel can continue, Sgt. Richmond sits down at one of the computers and puts a video up on the main screen, “Colonel!” Another video with the exact same setup from the first video starts to upload, however the chair where John Porter sat the first time is empty. The tension in the room is heavy because everyone knows that a second video could very well be John Porter’s last video. 

“Colonel, if you tell Bravo Two that a video is uploaded, nothing you say is going to stop her from wreaking hell on that building.” Before Stonebridge can say anything else, visual feeds come up showing Bravo One and Bravo Two. 

“Zero, Bravo Two, we are kitted up and approaching the rear of the building. It sounds like Sgt. Porter is being moved. Please advise.” Damien Scott moves closer to the screen when the visuals come online. The Captain and Sergeant are looking at each other hunkered down under a window of the building. “No it can’t be” he whispers to himself. The Colonel and Sergeant Stonebridge share a look hoping that Scott holds his shit together until after the mission. Both know that he is seconds away from realizing his connections to both Porters.

“Bravo Team this is Zero, you are to stand down, observe and wait for a backup team.” Sgt. Porter gives a furious shake of her head at Captain Marshall. “Zero this Bravo Two, they are moving John to another room and are starting another video. I am not waiting.” Porter reaches up and turns her mic off so that Zero cannot hear her. 

“Kate you’re my best friend, but you are a ranking Captain. I would never ask you to risk your command by disobeying a direct order. But I am going in there after John. I just ask that you don’t try and stop me.” Captain Marshall had reached to turn off her own mic before Pax started talking but she didn’t actually turn it off. “Just watch the entrance and be ready when I come out.” Marshall hands some extra ammo to Pax in agreement.

Pax takes the ammo and reaches up to turn her mic back on, winking at Kate, she knew Kate didn’t actually turn her mic off. “Zero, this is Bravo Two. I am going in.” Stonebridge puts on a headset, “Pax please don’t do this. Wait for me.” Pax drops down from the window when Stonebridge’s voice comes over comms. “I’m sorry Michael. He is my uncle, he saved me and he would do the same for either of us. Just promise me one thing.”

Michael drops his head down on his chest in defeat, “Anything Pax, you know that.” Damien Scott rushes to Stonebridge grabbing his arm and swinging him to face him. Anger is reflected in both of their faces. “What the fuck is going on?” Before Michael can answer, the visuals from Pax’s headcam shows that she is moving into the building. “Zero, I am entering the building. Michael if I don’t make it, please try to bring John and I home.” 

Michael and Damien turn with the others to watch the headcam footage. Pax is slowly making her way through the building. John is shouting profanities and hollering in anger at his captors, leading Pax straight to his location. Surprisingly enough she encounters very few hostiles as she makes her way towards John. What seemed like hours only took her less than a minute to locate the room John was being held in. 

“Zero, I have located the room where John is. Fixing to breach.” Pax reaches up to test the door and finds it locked. The only way in is to take down the door. Pax is low to the ground leaning against the wall. “Mike you there?”

“I’m here. I with you all the way.” Michael has a death grip on the table in front of him.

“I love you Michael. Please don’t be mad at me.” Pax is inching her way closer to the door, rising up in front of it so that she kick it in.

“I can never be mad at you. I love you, Pax. Do what you need to do.” Michael pulls his mic set off as Sgt. Richmond places a hand on his arm. Richmond, Kate and Pax have been best friends for years. With those last words from Michael, Pax kicks in the door, shooting three of the men in the room before they can even react. John Porter recognizes her immediately and screams her name a second before someone grabs Pax from behind. She takes the guy out with a shot to the leg and kick to the stomach that throws him back against the wall.

Pax turns back to John just in time to see a masked man shoot John in the head and run out another door. “NOOOOOOOOO!!!! JOHN!!!!!!” Pax screams in horror and rush to catch him just as his chair falls over. He was dead instantly. Screaming in almost physical pain Pax pulls John free of the chair when she is tackled from behind. 

“Why won’t you stay dead you fucking asshole!” It is the guy that she kicked against the wall, the guy who took her attention from John just long enough for him to be killed. He tackles her to floor and straddles her waist. The insurgent pulls a gun towards her face. Pax grabs for the weapon and tries to wrestle the gun away from her face. Michael, who is watching all this happen from Pax’s headcam moves toward the monitors as if he can reach through the screens to help her. Colonel Grant, grabs his arm to hold him back and steady him at the same time. Pax is screaming profanities at the man while she is wrestling the gun away from her face and to the side of her head. The insurgent releases one hand from the gun and punches Pax in the face. The one handed grip on the gun allows Pax to further move the gun away from her face and the gun goes off. The bullet strikes the ground inches from her head, causing her eardrum to nearly rupture. Pax never even flinched but the unexpected shot scares the guy on top of her allowing Pax to leverage her legs up and around the man’s neck and torso. As she fights to regain the upper hand, Pax reaches into the leg of her pants and removes a very deadly looking knife. As she flips the guy over she comes up with the knife stabbing into his chest over and over again. One of the stabs goes through his neck and sprays her with blood. Despite the fact that the man is dead she keep stabbing screaming at him to die and stay dead.

Suddenly someone grabs her from behind pulling her from the dead man. Pax shakes loose from the small frame pulling her back and swirls with the knife poised to plunge into the person behind her. “Sergeant Porter, stand down” “Pax stop!” Pax hears her name and screaming all around her, but it is Colonel Grant’s sharp reply for her to stand down that breaks through the red haze rolling through her body and mind. It is Captain Marshall that pulled Pax from the dead man. Pax is rooted to her spot in confusion and grief, she isn’t sure what has happened. She looks to the dead man and to John’s body. She barely even remembers the man attacking her and she certainly doesn’t remember how her knife made it to her hand.

Captain Marshall sweeps the room with gun and headcam making sure the room is clear. Once the room is secured she returns to face Pax, “Colonel we need an exfil and we need it close” Everyone can see on Marhsall’s headcam that Pax’s breathing is hard and ragged. Her eyes are wild and dilated as if she is in shock. Pax can hear the Colonel and the Captain talking over the comms but the voices seem far away and muted. Her gaze is fixated on John’s body.

Captain Marshall moves to collect John’s body, “Don’t touch him! I will carry him.” Pax spurns into quick motion pushing Marshall out of the way and lifting John’s heavy body across her shoulders and heads to the door. She doesn’t even try to lift her weapon to cover their six as she follows Kate from the room and ultimately the building into the woods. 

Once in the woods, Kate holds her hand up for a halt and Pax staggers to the ground under John’s dead weight. Once again Pax can hear the conversations going on through her comms but she doesn’t understand them. As they rise to their feet, Kate turns to Pax trying to take John’s body away from her. “Pax let me help carry him to the exfil point” Pax pulls away keeping Kate from pulling him off her shoulders. “He’s mine, don’t you dare touch him. I can make it. You just worry about getting us to the bird.” Over the next two hills the helicopter is waiting for them. 

Even once they get on the chopper Pax will not allow the flight crew to help her or take John’s body away from her. When the onboard medic tries to pull out a body bag, Pax pulls her knife out “You come near us with that bag and the only one needing it will be you after I gut you.” This whole time their comms are still open and headcams are on.

“Captain, remove Sgt. Porter’s mic and comms and take us off of open channel. Take her knife and gun as well.” Pax doesn’t even react or move as Marshall strips her of comms and weapons. It is obvious to everyone on the helicopter and at the crib that she is going into shock. “Captain, we will rendezvous when you land to help with John’s body and Sgt. Porter.”

“Copy that Zero.” Captain Marshall motions the medic moving to check on Pax to stay back and leave her alone.

“Let me talk to her Colonel.” Stonebridge pleads with Colonel Grant as the two of them along Damien Scott lift off in their own helicopter to meet Marshall and Porter. The three of them are watching the visual feeds from Marshall’s headcam on a handheld monitor. Pax hasn’t moved or said a word. She is resting on the floor of the helicopter her back fully supported on the closed door. John Porter’s body is laid across hers with his back against her chest and his head on her shoulder facing away from her. Pax has a death grip around his body holding him tight against hers.

“Captain put a headset on Porter.” Stonebridge starts quietly talking to Pax through the headset. He fills her head with his voice, talking about how proud John would be of her and that everything will be okay. She is not alone and he is coming to her. He is focused on just keeping her from drifting off further into shock and hoping his voice will prompt some type of reaction from her. But as they can all see through the visuals she has had no reactions at all from his soothing voice.

“Let me have a go at it.” Scott interrupts Stonebridge’s one-sided conversation with Pax. Stonebridge is so frustrated he lunges at Scott in the helicopter.

“Sgt. Stonebridge, stand down.” Stonebridge instantly releases Scott at the Colonel’s order. He is a soldier and soldiers obey orders from the higher ups. “Let him try.” If looks really could kill, both the Colonel and Scott would have dropped dead. 

“Hey, little Paxley what the shit are you doing with that British accent?” Scott kids into the mic in Pax’s ear. The impossible voice whispering in her ear reaches through the numbing haze that has descended upon her entire body. “Damien?” Pax utters in a voiceless whisper and is the only reaction or word spoken until the helicopter lands in an undisclosed location.

When the chopper lands, Captain Marshall exits the bird first. Everyone watches as Pax moves from the helicopter pulling John’s body and struggling to settle him over her shoulders once again. No one from the chopper even attempts to help her. Upon sight of Pax, Stonebridge moves to run to her, but both the Colonel and Scott holding him back keeps him from helping her. An almost inhuman growl escapes his throat. Pax makes it about five steps at a stooped walk under the slowly spinning blades of the helicopter when she stumbles and falls to a knee. Stonebridge breaks free from the hands keeping him stuck in place and runs to help her. He reaches her and lifts John’s body from her shoulders as her body finally gives out and she collapses completely under the weight. As Michael goes to help her to her knees and holds John’s body at the same time he is furious to find Scott beside him lifting Pax up and over his shoulder. With an unreadable look passing between the two men, they turn and run towards the hanger where Colonel Grant and Captain Marshall are waiting for them. 

Seeing Michael and then being thrown over the shoulder of a faceless man finally kicks Pax out of her shocked stupor. In the few paces it takes for them to reach the safety of the hangar, Pax has started kicking, punching, and screaming at the person carrying her. She even goes as far as biting the ass of the person carrying her. “Fuck, you hellcat.” Scott hollers in pain, nearly throwing Pax to the ground in an effort to dislodge her teeth from his ass. Pax comes off his back with arms swinging and legs kicking out at the man who manhandled her across the landing zone. She is blind with rage, anger, and tears. Strong familiar arms crush around her from behind and force her to her knees. 

Everyone is staring in shock at the unflappable Pax as the fight leaves her body and whimpers and sobs break through her throat. Michael, who placed John’s body on a stretcher before reaching to contain Pax before she can truly attack Scott, looks to Colonel Grant who nods a silent approval for him to get her out of sight. With Pax still crushed in his arms and making guttural sobs from deep in her body, Michael picks her up and rushed into the dark of the hangar.

Scott moves to follow Stonebridge and Pax but Colonel Grant stops him and asks him to help with John and that the two of them need to talk before he sees Pax. “As long as I get some fucking answers as to what the fuck is going on and how the little girl I grew up with is here with you fucks.” Colonel Grant pulls a sheet over John’s head, “you will get your answers, but you might not like what you find out. And some of the answers you want can only come from her.” Grant turns to Kate, “Captain get cleaned up and then we will debrief in two hours.” With that Colonel Grant personally pushes John’s gurney into another part of the converted hangar followed by a very angry and torn Damien Scott.

**Author's Note:**

> I love the Strike Back show and am working on writing an original novel. I sometimes have problems writing dialogue so I decided to use a couple of stories in my head from Strike Back to practice working with dialogue. And most of us know that with our favorite show we teak them in our heads and add characters just for us.
> 
> This is my first ever posting of anything I have ever written. 
> 
> Feedback and comments are greatly appreciated.


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